Newcomers at Wisdom HS attended an emotional photographic exhibit

Newcomer Students at Wisdom High School attended the photographic exhibit, “What We Carried: Fragments & Memories from Iraq & Syria,” a collaborative storytelling project held at the Arab American Cultural Center to celebrate the Arab-American Heritage Month.

The photographs, taken by Oregon-based freelance photographer Jim Lommasson, document what refugees packed when they embarked on their journey to the United States: photographs, a Qur’an, jewelry, dominoes.

During the exhibit, students also got to reflect and share their own personal stories of what they carried when they left their home countries. “It was both an emotional and empowering experience for all… but we finalized it by dancing to the Arabic folk dance of Dabke!” mentioned, Wagma Isaqzoy, Outreach worker for the Newcomer division.